More Than Meets the Eye
by christina12795
Summary: Beth thought she should stay far away from Merle Dixon, but he's starting to grow on her. And what of the other Dixon brother? Obviously an AU fic, where Merle survives his attack on the Governor. Begins at the end of Season 3. This is a mix of complete smut and genuine plot, so there are some chapters without sexual scenes, but I hope you enjoy. :) Rated M for obvious reasons.
1. The Things We Do

**Hey guys. I've had this idea in my head for a bit, and I thought that I would put my other story on hold while I got this one out. It is a Meth (Merle/Beth) fic, but there may be other pairings. I don't wanna give too much away! ;) It is obviously AU. And it is most definitely rated M for language, violence, and smut at some point in the future! Enjoy and please review if you liked it. Even if you didn't, I still would love to know what you thought could be improved upon. Thank you, my lovely readers.**

_Got a good setup here. _Merle Dixon thought as he sat in his locked cell at the prison. _Food, shelter. Some pretty women too. _It was dark outside, and he could hear the group downstairs discussing what they were gonna do about the redneck asshole that Officer Friendly's bitch had dragged in. From what he could hear, they were getting nowhere fast, so he laid back on the torn up mattress. He chuckled and thought sarcastically, _Only thing that could make this better is some coke and a nice tall bottle of Jack._ Merle drifted off to sleep.

Beth sat on the steps of the cell block, cradling Judith and listening to the debate. She didn't know the man, but anyone that beat up Glenn that bad and scared Maggie half to death was not someone she wanted anything to do with. Hell, Maggie had almost killed Merle when he walked into the prison with Rick and Daryl. Maggie was yelling and cussing, waving her gun in his face. Glenn was right behind her, not wielding a gun, but not doing anything to stop her either. Maggie even got in a good right hook before Glenn and Rick pulled her off of him.

Truthfully, the man scared her too. He was taller than Daryl, older, and the quick look she got at his face revealed that he had lived the same hard life as Daryl, maybe harder. She didn't know anything about the man, but one thing was clear: she should stay far away from him.

* * *

Merle woke to the sound of a key turning in the metal lock of the cell door. Daryl was there with a bowl of breakfast oatmeal.

"So you and Officer Friendly come to a decision last night? Or were you up tellin' bedtime stories to each other instead?" Merle asked, a smirk on his face.

"Fuck you. Do ya good to learn to keep yer trap shut once in a while."

Something snapped inside Merle, and Daryl could see the anger flare up behind his brother's eyes. "Well what the hell they waitin' on, huh? The Governor's gonna hit'chu any day now, and ya'll are down there fightin' about what to do with me? I'll tell ya what to do with me." Merle got up and stomped out into the cell block. "Hell, I'll tell all ya'll! Ya'll need me! The Governor's about to go bustin' through the rest of them gates out there, and ya need me!"

"Merle, sit yer ass down!" Daryl called from inside the cell.

"No, you listen good! Ya'll left me fer dead! Now you got a good place, a damn nice place to settle yerselves down. Least you can do is spare me the fuckin' suspense and tell me if I'm stayin' or if little brother and I are gettin' the hell outta here!" The silence that followed was deafening, until Rick stepped up.

"He's right." The group turned to look at him. "I know we all aren't on the best terms, but we need a man from the inside if we wanna find out what this Governor is capable of." Merle leaned back on the railing, a smug look on her face. "Now that don't mean that we have to let you stay here. We could lock you up in that cell for all I care. But we're not gonna do that, because we're better than that."

Beth watched this ordeal from on of the cells almost directly under Merle. She watched the tall man yell, spit flying from his mouth. She had stories about him; he was racist, sexist, and basically an asshole to anyone he met. _I guess the people giving him food and shelter were no exception. _The group went on to discuss plans for the Governor, and Carol came to get Jude ready for the day.

* * *

The next day Rick announced that he was going to meet with the Governor. He, Daryl, and Hershel set out in the morning. Everyone was racked with worry, but Merle was especially anxious. Beth could hear him yelling about his brother, and Glenn and Maggie were trying to ignore him. She absently thought about how strong his bond to his brother was. Then there was a loud thud and the sound of fists hitting flesh. _Are you kidding me?_

She ran out and grabbed a handgun off of the table. She fired a shot into the ceiling, and the three of them immediately stopped and stared at her. She calmly put down the gun and walked out.

Merle yelled "Get off me!" and stared after the little girl. _How come I never noticed her before?_

* * *

That night Rick walked up to Merle, who was tearing apart another mattress. He sighed. "Nothin'. Some a the best dope I ever had was in a mattress. This place musta been no fun at all." Merle chuckled and sat back against the wall.

"Do you even know why you do the things you do? The choices you make?" Rick asked. Merle just stared up at him. Rick continued, "If we give the Governor Michonne, Woodbury stands down."

Merle contemplated that for a minute then asked, "Anybody else know?"

Rick talked to him about it for a while, but after they were done, he still wasn't sure whether Merle was in or out. Before he walked away, Merle said, "Don't know why I do the things I do. Never did. I'm a damn mystery to me." Rick just walked away.

A plan had formed in Merle's head while he was talking to Officer Friendly. He knew that it would never get done if Rick was in charge. He set out to find that black bitch.

An hour later, the man was driving down a back road with Michonne tied up in the passenger seat. Somewhere along the way, something had changed Merle's mind. Maybe it was the way he had protected Michonne, or the conversation that they had earlier. Suddenly, he stopped the car and cut Michonne's wire. "Go. I got somethin' I gotta do on my own."

Merle drove fast down the road and grabbed the sniper from behind his seat. He knew it was a suicide mission. He wasn't making it back to the prison. But that son of a bitch needed to die. When he got to the warehouses, he holed up in one of the buildings and began executing his plan. He picked off the Governor's men one by one. He had the bastard in his sights when a walker bit down on his metal arm. He cried out and flipped the thing off, stabbing it in the head.

Before he knew what was happening, the Governor's men were on him, kicking and punching mercilessly. He swore and tried to get a hold on one of them. The Governor took him in a chokehold and yelled, "Leave him to me!" Phillip dragged him back into the warehouse and threw him on the ground. He pulled him back up and beat him until his face was damn near unrecognizable. The Governor leveled his gun at him, and Merle stood still with his chin high. _So this is where it ends._ _I'm sorry Daryl. _

The Governor cocked back the hammer and cried out in pain as a bullet was lodged in his thigh. He went down, writhing in pain. Merle reacted fast, killing two of the men attacking him and heard, "Duck!" He did as he was told and ducked. Another round of gunfire flew past him, and the man coming at him with a crowbar dropped. His chest was riddled with bullet holes.

He saw the Governor crawl to his pistol and start firing randomly. He got the hell out of there; he knew the Governor was walker bait for-fucking-sure. When he rounded the corner of the building, he caught his breath and looked around for the man that had just saved his life.

"The hell were you thinking?! He was gonna fuckin' kill ya! What the hell was this, this suicide mission?!" He turned to the sound of his brother's voice and promptly got an elbow to the jaw. His head flew back, and his vision went red.

"I was doin' what Officer Friendly back at yer precious prison didn't have the balls to do!"

Daryl looked at him hard, and they both knew that wasn't the only reason he had done this. Daryl had seen Michonne on the way here. "Yeah well yer gonna get yer sorry ass back to that precious prison. I ain't losin' you too." Daryl grabbed Merle by the back of the collar, and Merle swayed slightly. Daryl moved to put an arm under his older brother's shoulders, but Merle shrugged him off violently. He stumbled into a tree, grasping it tightly to keep his balance.

"Come on, ya asshole. Lemme help you."

"Oh yeah yer all about helpin' people these days, huh little brother?" Merle rolled his eyes, but he knew he was fading fast. Blood dripped down into his eyes, and his arms were slick with it too. Daryl slipped his arm back under him, and they limped back to the prison. He whistled a signal when they were close, and Carol and Maggie distracted the walkers while Carl opened the inside gate for them. They ran through the yard full of walkers and into the cell block.

Merle was incoherent by then; his eyes rolled around unseeingly, and his body sagged. Someone yelled for Hershel, and Rick helped Daryl set him down in one of the cells. Hershel checked him out and determined that he had 3 broken ribs, a broken nose, and a cracked jaw, although that was probably from when Daryl had hit him. A bullet had also grazed his left shoulder, leaving a chunk of skin missing. He was bruised from head to toe. Hershel put an IV in his arm and have him pain medication strong enough to knock him out for at least a day to heal.

"Bethy, can you watch him for a while? We need to talk to Daryl," Hershel asked of his youngest daughter. "Carl will be here, and we'll be right down the hall in the library."

"Okay daddy," Beth answered. She sat down in the chair next to the bunk and looked briefly at Merle. He was pale, since he did lose a lot of blood. She hadn't been this close to him since he got here, and she took this time to study his features. He looked a lot like Daryl: the long nose, the sturdy jaw line. Even their body shapes were the same, albeit Merle's was a bit older. She wasn't sure how old he was, but she knew Daryl was in his 30s, and Merle had to be a few years older. He was greying, but she could see blonde in his buzz cut hair. His thick stubble was greying too.

Wrinkles ceased his face, but whether that was from age, stress, or years of smoking she couldn't tell. She leaned closer to him, and she could hear his steady breathing. She watched his eyes move under the lids and wondered if he was dreaming. _What does a man like Merle Dixon dream about? _She sat back in her chair and opened her copy of _Looking For Alaska. _It was one of the many books she has salvaged from the houses they had stayed in over the last year, but it was her favorite.

* * *

It was dark when Merle opened his eyes. Pitch black. He wasn't lying on the cot anymore; he was propped up in a chair. He went to wipe the sleep from his eyes but found that his hands and feet were tired to the chair. He struggled against the wire restraints until he heard a familiar voice say "Oh good. You're awake." His head whipped to the side with the force of the punch that hit him in the next second.

He spit out a mouthful of blood and tried to cuss at the motherfucker that dared to hit him. But when he opened his mouth, no sound came out.

"What's the matter? Governor got your tongue?" Phillip stepped out of the shadow and laughed menacingly.

Merle strained against his ties, but everything was in slow motion. Suddenly the Governor's face melted into a decaying, lifeless corpse, and it lurched toward Merle. He tried to get away, but it was like swimming through sludge. Frantically, Merle pulled at the restraints, pulled until his wrists were dripping with blood. The Governor-turned-walker grabbed him by the shoulders and chomped into his neck. Merle let out a cry of pain and terror.

He shot out of the bed, thrashing. It was dark, but he could see the faint moonlight shining in from the windows. The young girl from before was flattened against the wall opposite the bed, and Daryl had his gun pointed at Merle. He looked around wildly. His breath came in short gasps, and he tried to suck down as much as he could. When Daryl saw that he hadn't turned into one of _them_, he lowered his weapon.

The IV was sticking painfully out of his arm, having came unhooked when he woke up and started flailing. Merle was about to pull it out when the girl - Beth? - moved toward him. He flinched, still on edge from the nightmare. She put her hands up and inched closer to a hand on his forearm and the other in his shoulder, she pressed lightly and he laid back down warily. Her touch soothed him, and though he tried not to, he still hissed in pain when the needle was pulled from his arm.

"Sorry," Beth muttered. Merle shifted in the bed; something was uncomfortable about his trousers. He propped himself up on his good arm. _Well shit._ He had pissed himself because of that fucking dream. He looked up menacingly at Beth, who had no doubt noticed it. She scrambled up and leaned close to Daryl, facing away from Merle. Daryl nodded and walked over to his brother, grabbing a new pair of shorts from his bag.

"Don't you fuckin' tell anyone, ya hear?" Beth heard Merle threaten Daryl before she slipped out to give them the privacy she was sure Merle wanted.

* * *

The next morning Hershel determined that Merle was okay to sit up and eat, but he wasn't allowed to leave that cell. By now everyone had heard about what he had done for them. Of course to Merle, he had done it for himself and for Daryl, but the others didn't know that. They all stopped by to thank him or ask if he needed anything. He hated the attention, except when the little girl came to sit with him. He knew she was just doing it to give her daddy a break, but he still liked her company.

In two more days he was able to walk and work again, and immediately they started preparing for the day that the governor would attack. And that day came. The Governor attacked from all sides with grenades and ambushes. Merle shot at the attackers mercilessly but always kept the young girl in his sight. The prison group fought them off until the men and women retreated. Rick led a party to Woodbury to gather the remaining citizens and bring them to the prison.

Merle watched from the guard tower as they all filed off the bus and into cell block D. Carl looked on in disgust, and Merle could see the specs of anger and resentment in the kid's eyes. He saw himself in the boy; he saw the angry little kid he had been, and he hadn't even had to grow up in a world gone to shit like this boy did.

* * *

In the season that followed Merle helped out with what he could, working on cars, fixing fences, and taking watch most nights. He could tell people still didn't like him, let alone even begin to trust him. The Woodbury people cowered in fear and pulled their children behind them when he walked into the room.

But he noticed Beth had been around him more and more in the past few months. She was a little thing, with long blonde hair and fair skin. Her voice was quiet and she didn't talk much, but when she did, people listened. Merle definitely listened. Something had happened to him that night, when he woke from the nightmare. Her light touch on his arm and the soft care in her eyes changed something in him. And Merle knew there was no going back.


	2. In Your Eyes

**Wow thank you guys for showing such a big interest in my little fic! I want to specifically thank Brazen Hussy, Athlete Girl, Slytherin-Princess10, vifly, and one lovely guest for their nice reviews. :) This chapter is controversial, you'll see a little insight into both Beth and Merle. Enjoy and as always, reviews are appreciated. Also, if there are any spelling or grammar errors, don't be afraid to let me know! A big pet peeve of mine is writing errors. :)**

* * *

Night watch never bothered Merle. He liked the quiet. He didn't need everyone going about their daily business and such while he had to sit up here and make sure none of 'em got eaten. Night watch was peaceful; you could almost block out the noise of the walkers on the fence if you tried hard enough. It was looking to be a pretty dull night when he heard a knock on the door.

"Come on in," he yelled, turning around to see who it was. He was surprised to see the little blonde standing in the doorway.

"Rick was gonna come up to take watch, since you've done it almost every night this week, but he's been so busy that I offered to do it." Beth shuffled her feet awkwardly. "So you can go to bed if you want." Beth was always so nervous around the older man. He radiated intimidation.

"Well thank ya, but I'm alright. Can't sleep much these days anyway," Merle responded, looking back out at the fields. On the outside he seemed calm and collected, but internally he was a little nervous too. He didn't get this girl, hell he never got any of the chicks in his past. Granted most of the never stuck around for more than a night and - wait. Why was he comparing this kid to one of the whores he used to fuck?

Lost in thought, Merle didn't hear Beth say, "Yeah me either. Mind if I sit up here for a while then?" When Merle didn't answer, didn't even turn around, Beth took that as an invitation to get the hell out, so she just mumbled, "Nevermind," and walked quietly down the stairs.

_Oh shit. _"Hold on kid!" Beth was halfway down the stairs when Merle lumbered after her. "Sorry, I get like that sometimes. Didn't mean to ignore ya. Ya can sit up here long as ya like." Beth took a seat facing the courtyard, and Merle settled down next to her, with a chair in between them.

"It's a nice night out. Surprised it stopped raining for more than an hour," Beth said, attempting small talk. Merle grunted in response, and Beth again saw the similarities between him and Daryl.

"I admire your love for your brother." Beth was surprised by her own bluntness.

Merle leaned back and studied her. "S'nothin'. Blood's blood."

"Yeah, but I don't think Maggie would do for me what you did for Daryl, or what he did for you."

"Hey now, Maggie loves ya. Why would you say that she wouldn't do that for ya?"

"Because she has Glenn and daddy and probably a baby someday. You two just have each other. You don't have as much to live for." Beth's wide eyes snapped to the man's. "That came out wrong." Beth bit her lip nervously as Merle shook his head.

"Nah, it's fine. I knew whatcha meant. Truth is, that asshole _is_ all I got left. Even before this, all we had was each other. Ya know we didn't have a winnin' upbringing?" Beth nodded. "Well there was this one time, we was alone in the shack our pisshead of a father drug us to every summer. 'Fore juvy, 'fore the army. I was drunk, 'course, and Daryl couldn'ta been more 'an 10 years old. He was complainin' about the heat, or the house, or some shit. Well I got so fed up with his bitchin' that I pull my huntin' knife on him. Backed him right up to the door. We was both yellin', until he goes, 'Fuck you.'" Beth cocked her head at him, confused by why we was telling this story.

"Now this kid wasn't like me. He had a smoke once in a while, a beer here 'n' there. And he ain't never said fuck before, least as far as I knew. I let him go and start laughin'. Damn near made myself sick I laughed so hard. He was pissed at me for a minute, then he started laughin' right along with me." Merle chuckled at the memory. "Point is, it don't matter what happens, we ain't got nobody else. So we better off stickin' together. Lookin' out for each other."

Beth nodded, sympathetic. She had a good childhood, other than a few classic teenage rebellious acts. Merle, even with his minimal social skills, could tell that she didn't know what to say. He propped his feet up on the desk in front of him and said, "Your turn."

"What?"

"I told ya a story. Now ya gotta tell me one."

Beth's cheeks heated at the thought of being put on the spot, and she was thankful for the dark night. Little did she know that while Merle's face was cast in shadow, hers was illuminated fairly well from Merle's point of view. He laughed internally; the little girl could blush at anything.

"Um, okay. What kinda story?"

"Anything. Got all the time in the world up here." _Especially for a pretty girl like her._

They spent the next hours talking about life before the end of the world. It was mainly Beth talking, telling stories about Maggie or Hershel or her mama, who died before Rick's group joined them back at the farm. Merle didn't have much to add, but he just liked to listen to the little one's voice. Before they knew it, the sun was coming up on the horizon. Merle stared out at the prison for a while, the both of them sitting in content silence.

"Haven't had that much fun in a long while. Yer a real good story teller," Merle said.

A blush spread across the girl's face again. "Thank you."

"Well you better get yerself on to bed. Carol'll be comin' up for watch soon."

Beth picked up her jacket and walked past him to the door. She stopped behind him and set her hand lightly on his shoulder. "Thank you. I never really said it to you."

Merle turned around slowly. "Ya just said it, darlin'."

"Yeah, but I mean for everything. For protecting us," Beth answered, smiling quietly.

"Like I said 'fore, s'nothin'."

"Mhm. Good night."

She let her hand slip off Merle's shoulder, unknowingly leaving a trail of heat from his neck down the the length of his arm. He nodded at her, and she was gone.

Beth walked to her cell feeling strange. She had just spent all night talking to Merle Dixon. The man she told herself to steer clear of from the beginning. But last night was good. She had opened up a lot more than she expected. And he even had some good stories, when he wasn't too busy laughing at hers. She chuckled to herself.

He looked good laughing; smiling was something none of the survivors did enough of lately. There was more to this man than what everyone thought, and she saw a glimpse of that tonight. He dominated her thoughts until she peacefully drifted off to sleep.

Merle headed to his bunk a few minutes after Beth. _What the hell ya think yer doin'? Ya better not be thinkin' what I think ya are! _His mind berated him in Daryl's voice. _A redneck asshole like you don't deserve her. Ya don't deserve nothin'._ Merle buried his face in the pillow to block out the voice and soon he was in a fitful sleep.

* * *

Rick had entrusted in Merle the job of teaching some of Woodbury's people how to shoot, so when he woke up that afternoon he took a group of them out to the back of the prison where he had set up a row of targets. Carl, Beth, and Carol came along too, just to stay at the top of their game. He unloaded the bag of guns and talked first about gun safety, then how to hold the gun. He passed the guns out and walked by each person, adjusting their grip or stance.

Beth stood tall and held her gun expertly. She knew how to shoot, having been taught by Rick and Shane back at the farm. She was hyper aware of Merle coming closer and closer to her with each person he passed. She felt his presence behind her, _close _behind her, but maybe that was her overactive imagination. _I shouldn't even be thinking like that._ Clearing her mind, she shot fast, taking out five targets.

"Doin' fine, kid," Merle said gruffly, then moved on to Carol. Beth lowered her gun and stared after him. _What's his problem?_

When the sun settled on the horizon, Merle shouted, "Pack it up!" The group all put their guns into their holsters or in the old sheriff's bag and headed into the prison. While most of the group was busying themselves putting away their weapons, two of the more rowdy Woodbury teenagers hung back, hiding their guns in their waistbands.

The group was halfway through the tombs when a shot rang behind them. Sprinting back through the big hallways, they rounded the corner to find the two boys staring down at the gun in between them.

"We-we were j-just messing around, and I-I swear I thought the s-safety was off, but it-it went off!" The first boy stammered. The boys' mother pushed through the crowd, frantically asking if they were hit. They shook their heads no.

The next thing the boy knew he was being lifted off of his feet and slammed into the wall. The thick metal of Merle's mechanical hand pressed hard into his windpipe.

"The hell you think you was doin'?! You think this is a fuckin' game? You coulda killed somebody!" The boy stammered out idle excuses with wide eyes. "We been any closer, and you coulda killed yer mother! Is that what you want? Huh?!" Tears fell to the teen's cheeks.

"Merle, stop!" Carol yelled, cradling the boy's mother in a tight embrace.

The continued on like Carol hadn't said a word. "Not to mention ya just fuckin' brought down every walker in this goddamn place with that shot! I should shoot ya in the leg, leave ya here for 'em. Or make yer brother do it, since you two seem to like guns so fuckin' much, useless piece a shit."

Beth ran up to him and grabbed his good arm, urging him to let go of the boy. His eyes snapped to hers and in them she saw pure, unadulterated rage. Before she could say anything else, she was sprawled out on the floor three feet away, her cheek stinging. Her hand flew to her face, and tears flooded her eyes. Merle looked at her in shock for a millisecond; then she blinked and his face was the hard, rage-filled mask from before.

Carol rushed to her side and helped her up. The two women looked at Merle, who gave one last push to the boy and let him down, stalking back down the hallway. The crowd parted for him, no one daring to mess with the man whose anger was rolling of him in waves. It was a quiet walk back through the prison; Beth sniffling subsided before they reached the cell block.

When they filed into the kitchen, Beth pulled from Carol's light grasp on her and mumbled, "I'm gonna go to bed." She slipped into the cell block unnoticed by the group, except for Merle, who looked after her with pain in his dark eyes.

He told Rick and the others about the incident, leaving out his particularly brutal participation. He said goodnight to the group and headed to his bunk, contemplating whether or not he should talk to the girl. Checking to make sure no one had followed him into the cell block, he rapped on the metal outside Beth's room.

"Just a second!" Beth said then pulled back the curtain. Her face fell into a frown, and her eyes grew wide at the sight of Merle. He could see four red lines on her cheek, the exact pattern of his one good hand. His old heart clenched at the proof that he had hurt this little girl.

"Hey listen I-" he started, but was abruptly interrupted by the slamming of the curtain in his face. Taking a chance, he pulled the curtain back again and continued, "'M sorry."

Beth was standing at her mirror, trying to apply foundation to the marks on her pale cheek. "It's fine. I'm fine."

"Nah it ain't. Just want ya t' know I didn't mean to hurt ya."

"Okay. You said that, so now you can leave."

"M'kay. G'night." Merle let the curtain fall behind him as he trudged to his room.

As soon as Merle was gone, Beth put down the makeup and held back a sob. She had never been hit before, at least not by the living, and definitely not by a man. But it was more than that. Her cheek would heal. It was the anger in his eyes that scared her more than anything. It was like he didn't even recognize her.

_Not that he should have. I mean, we talked for one night. So what?_ Strangely, she wasn't as mad at him as she made it seem. He was troubled, he had been through so much more than half of the people at the prison. Beth kept telling herself as she laid down in bed and tried to fall asleep.


	3. Demons Inside

**I took my sweet time on this chapter. It's been in the works for weeks, because I just wanted to make it really good. I hope you like it! Special thanks to DarylDixon's Lover, Crowgrl13, Alisha, SavingGrace579, crazstiz, and a Guest for your reviews, as well as the aforementioned reviewers. Your support keeps me going and makes me so happy to write. Thank you and enjoy!**

* * *

Beth woke to the sound of voices outside her room. She got up and looked in the mirror. The lines on her cheek had faded a bit over night, but there was still a dull red outline on each of them. She applied as much cover-up as she could without it looking out of place and walked out, saying good morning to the little group gathered around Judith, who was trying to crawl into Carol's lap. When she gave up and started whimpering in defeat, Beth swooped in and picked her up, planting a big kiss on her rosy cheeks. She brought her into the kitchen and fed herself and Jude a hearty breakfast of oatmeal.

Merle was seated with his back to her at one of the tables with Daryl, and Tyreese was getting plates for the three of them. Beth sat down on the other side of the room, watching Merle talk quietly to Daryl. When he got up to refill his canteen, he caught her eye and looked away quickly. She saw shame, anger, guilt in that one fleeting gaze. Maybe she shouldn't have been so quick to dismiss him last night.

They spent the day doing the usual tasks, cleaning, cooking, tilling the gardens. Merle was suspiciously absent for most of the day. She was feeding their horse when she felt a hand grip her arm and pull her behind the shed. She almost yelled out when she saw that it was Merle, but she knew she could handle herself, so she kept her mouth in a straight line.

They stared at each other for a moment, Beth stern and strong, Merle worried and visibly upset. Beth broke their stare when she saw Merle's hand reach for her and flinched. He stopped. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

His hand moved again, and he touched her cheek lightly, wiping off some of the makeup. He sucked in a breath. "I-I don't know what happened yesterday."

"You were so cruel to that boy. And when you looked at me, it was like you were a totally different person from the man I talked to about childhood stories two nights ago. I thought you were getting better."

"I don't know, girl. It ain't easy t' change an old fucker like me. Been tryin'. Fer my brother."

"Well I'm not angry about this" -she gestured to her cheek- "just so you know. But you do it again?" She tried to look firm, intimidating even. "You're gonna be no match for me."

The absurdity of this little girl having the guts to stand up to a guy like him made Merle almost laugh out loud. He cracked a smile, and she looked at him angrily.

"Asshole," she muttered before walking back out to feed the animals. Merle could tell she was smiling though.

* * *

Beth settled down to dinner with Maggie, Glenn, and Hershel. Maggie immediately caught sight of her cheek and gasped.

"Beth, what happened to you?!" Beth's hand flew up to her cheek. Merle had wiped off some of the makeup earlier. She looked around nervously for a second, deciding whether she would tell them the truth or not. She knew she should; Carol had told her stories from before the apocalypse, of her and Ed. But they already didn't like Merle, hardly anyone did. And he had said himself that it was an accident.

"Oh, just slept on it wrong. Been feelin' weird all day, so I've just scratched it a little," Beth said, looking at Maggie hopefully.

"No, that looks like more than that. Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm-"

"It was Merle." Carol stood behind the young girl. They all turned to her, then to Merle who stood in the doorway eating his food.

"What?!" Maggie got up and looked from Beth to Merle. "Did you fucking touch her?"

Beth answered instead. "No, Maggie, it was an accident! He was trying to talk to a kid on the way back from shooting practice, and he turned and accidently hit me!"

"Bullshit! I'm gonna cut your other hand off, you worthless piece of shit!" Maggie pulled her gun on Merle, and he stood tall, looking down on the fiery Greene sister. The room erupted into shouts, at both sides of the argument.

"Ya best listen to little sister there." was all Merle said. He couldn't say anything more. He had hit her, he had done it on purpose. Whether he was in his right mind or not at the time wouldn't have mattered to Maggie.

"Everybody calm down!" Rick yelled from the middle of the room.

Hershel stood up. "If Beth said it was an accident, I don't see why we're even having this conversation. You folks don't believe my daughter is telling the truth?"

The room quieted down at that, but Maggie's gun was still pointed at Merle, and Glenn had an arm around her waist.

"Maggie, hun. You know shootin' him would do none a us any good right now." Hershel reasoned with his oldest daughter.

She looked back at her father and let out a breath as she lowered the weapon. She threw a menacing glance at Merle, who stood staring past her. The girl was holding onto her daddy's arm. They walked slowly back into the cell block.

Rick glared at Merle as he followed them. Merle turned abruptly and walked into the tombs. He didn't know where he was going, but he knew he needed to be far from that goddamn cell block. The realization that Beth had lied to protect him hit him, and he stopped. _Shit. What the hell did I get myself into now?_

* * *

The next morning Beth rolled out of bed and saw that most of the red marks had faded. She put on a little bit of makeup and went to breakfast. Merle walked in a little while later, not that Beth was looking for him or anything. She gasped when she saw his face. His bottom lip was cut and his right eye had a black ring around it. She resisted the urge to run over to him, because she knew that whatever happened to him was because of his association with her.

Beth was fuming when her sister walked in with Glenn. She urgently whispered to her, "I thought daddy told you to not do anything to Merle!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Look at him and tell me you didn't do that to his face!" Maggie found Merle in the room and suppressed a cruel laugh.

"No I didn't Beth, but it looks like he got what he deserves. That asshole never shoulda laid a hand on you in the first place." Their voices had risen by now, and Hershel and Glenn were watching the two sisters.

"It was an accident, Maggie!"

"You know that's bullshit! He wants you to think that, so you won't give us the signal to kill him!"

Beth was about to yell at her, but at that comment she closed her mouth. "That's what you think of me? That I would tell you to kill someone? I know we've all changed, Maggie, but we must be a lot worse off than I can see to make you believe that that's the kind of person I am." Beth got up from the table and ran out the front door of the cell block.

"Beth!" Maggie yelled after her. She got up to follow her, but Hershel grabbed her arm. He gave her a look that said, "Let her go." Maggie sat back down.

Merle moved toward the door, thinking that somebody should probably go after her. He got halfway there when Hershel put his hand on the man's shoulder. "Son, was my girl telling that truth last night?"

"Yes'sir. I didn't mean no harm to her."

Hershel nodded and let go of Merle's shoulder. Once he was outside, Merle looked around for the kid. He walked around to the back side of the prison, to one of the destroyed guard towers. Beth had mentioned that she liked it back here because it was farthest from the fences and hardly any walkers could be heard.

"Beth!" he called out. He saw a shape huddled against the tower. "Hey, ya alright?"

"M'Fine." She sniffled.

"No ya ain't. Maggie didn't mean what she said back in there."

"And how the hell would you know?"

"I don't, just takin' a wild guess 'cause she's yer sister. And I know me 'n Daryl've said more than our fair share of insults."

Beth looked up at him. "Why do you even care? Because of me, you got beat up by God knows who. Just stay away from me. All I do is mess everything up." She got up and ran in the back door of the prison. Merle was about to follow, but thought better of it. _Let her cool off and she'll come back when she's ready._

He heard a scream from inside, and he sprinted to the door, pulling his gun from the holster. He ripped the door open and followed the sound of groans and yells down the hallway. Beth was backed against the wall, barely fighting off a big walker in a prison jumpsuit. Merle pulled it off her and shot it in the head.

Beth sobbed next to him, and she looked around with wide eyes. She had one hand twisted in Merle's shirt; she clung on for dear life. She crumpled into his chest, whimpering. He heard more walkers coming down the tombs, drawn to them by the shot Merle had fired.

"We gotta go, Beth," Merle growled. He half-pulled her back through the tombs and slammed the door behind them, sticking a wood plank against the door to hold it.

Rick was the first one to see them come out the building, and he called to the others. "We heard a shot! Are you okay?" Tyreese and Rick helped to barricade the door. Beth was still attached to Merle, digging her nails into his arm she was holding on so tight.

"Yeah we're fine. A group of 'em musta busted outta one of the cells back here," Merle answered.

Maggie ran over to them and grabbed Beth in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry, Bethy."

"It's okay. I'm fine. Merle saved me," Beth answered.

"Speakin' a which, ya can take yer nails outta my arm any time," Merle commented.

Beth pried her hand off of the older man and said, "Sorry."

"Thank you," Rick said to Merle.

He nodded, and they walked to front of the prison.

* * *

They went about their daily tasks as usual. Once everyone was awake, they sent a group to deal with the walkers that had gotten free. Merle, Rick, Daryl, Glenn, Tyreese, and a few of the Woodbury men helped clear it out. They even found a few good guns and supplies.

Merle was on watch that night, so he went to lie down for a few hours.

Beth laid down in her little bunk, per the doctor's, A.K.A. dad's, orders. While she rested, she devised a plan. Around midnight, she snuck out of the cell block and made her way to the guard tower. The cool night air made her shiver in her pajama shorts and tank top. She climbed the stairs and cracked the door open. She flinched when it creaked softly, but Merle didn't move. She cleared her throat to speak, hoping to scare him.

"Couldn't sleep again darlin'?" He asked without turning around. She stood silent for a second then laughed.

"Yeah," Beth finally said in defeat.

"What's been keepin' ya up?"

Beth took a deep breath. "You."

Merle looked at her quizzically. "Whatchu mean, me?"

In the moonlight Beth looked like an average 18 year old girl. Blonde hair, big eyes, youthful body. Truthfully, she was so much more. She was feisty and brave and strong. Merle had learned this over the time he'd had at the prison.

She saw him studying her and asked, "What really happened to your face, if Maggie didn't do it?"

He chuckled. "Daryl. Clocked me good for hittin' ya."

Beth stifled a little laugh. Merle shot her a look. "Sorry. That's not funny." As she said it, another laugh bubbled out of her chest, and soon they were both laughing. The rest came naturally. They settled into a nice pattern, telling stories and talking about everything they could possibly think of.

They needed this. They needed time to just look back on life and think "I'm glad we did what we did in the time we had." And it made them realize that they still had time, time to do amazing things and time to do other stupid, crazy mistakes.

Beth stood up to demonstrate some story about a fight she and Maggie had back when they were kids, and Merle laughed as it was very involved and theatrical. She spun around, and her shoe lace got caught on a nail sticking out of the floor. She squealed as she fell forward, her hands landing on Merle's chest. They both let out a little "oof!" at the impact, but when Beth looked up, Merle was staring straight into her eyes.

Her eyes flicked down to the rest of his face and back up again. It only took a fraction of a second, but Merle saw it. He leaned down, and Beth pulled herself up so that their lips were centimeters apart. They breathed in each other's scents, sweat and salt and Georgia's spring air.

They weren't sure who moved first, but at some point it was too much, and their lips touched. Merle was hesitant, keeping his hands at his sides. He didn't ask for anything, just let the young girl do what she wanted. Beth's hands slid up his chest to circle his neck, and her tongue begged entry. He opened his mouth and deepened the kiss. He wrapped his arms around her delicate waist, one hand splayed wide on the small of her back.

Their tongues mingled together, Beth rough and wanting, Merle's hesitant but growing more fierce by the second. It wasn't a desperate kiss. It was more like a sigh, a relief. Beth wasn't sure when she had known that she wanted this; she certainly hadn't come up to the guard tower expecting this. _Okay, well maybe a little. _Expecting wasn't the right word. She was _hopeful _that this would happen.

Merle's mind, on the other hand, was a racing frantic mess. He had a vague idea that he should stop this, stop it right now before it turned into something they'd both regret in the morning. So then why were his hands moving up her back, to caress the gentle curve of her spine?

Beth pulled herself up so that she was straddling the man in his chair. The back of her tiny tank top rode up, and she gasped when Merle's cool hands met her hot skin. His grip tightened at the skin to skin contact, and the young girl pushed her body flush against his. She was an expert kisser, like really fucking good. And when she took Merle's bottom lip between her teeth and tugged, he let out a strained moan.

"Fuck," Merle growled and ground his hips up to meet hers. Beth moaned into his mouth, which only served to arouse the man more.

Her hands traveled down his chest. Merle twisted one hand in the girl's shirt and pulled it up, exposing all of her torso. He moved his mouth to her neck, trailing kisses and panting little breaths from her jawline to the crease between her breasts. She threw her head back in ecstasy and then giggled _-fuckin' giggled-_ as Merle's lips tickled her light skin as they trailed back up to her neck. Merle looked down at the girl in his lap, this young, complex girl.

Beth refused to let her lips leave his for more than a few seconds, so Merle was quickly lost in her body once again. With a sudden burst of confidence, she pressed her chest toward him, invitingly. He didn't miss a beat. She watched as he took the top of her tank top between his teeth and snapped it back. She settled back into his lap and grinned at how hard he was. _I did that. _Beth smiled internally.

Merle took heavy breaths as he pulled Beth's shirt up and over her arms. He palmed her little breasts in his calloused hands, and she moaned in pleasure. He flicked his tongue out and licked one nipple, making it pucker even more than it already was. Beth squirmed in his lap and rubbed herself against his rock hard pants.

Her hands ran down his stomach again, and again he moaned in ecstasy. _Hmm. Gotta keep that in mind._ She rubbed the spot where their bodies met. He growled at her with her breast still in his mouth and thrusted his hips up. Beth was working on the button at the top of his jeans when there was a knock on the door.

They stared at each other for a second, and the doorknob started to turn. Beth scrambled off of his lap, and Merle threw her shirt to her from where he had tossed it earlier. She shut herself into the little supply closet just as Daryl stepped through the doorway.

"Whatcha want Darylina?" Merle said, putting his legs up on the desk in hopes of disguising his raging hard-on.

"My watch, least til we go on that run later. Brought ya some breakfast too."

"Oh." _It's morning already?_ Daryl took a seat next to him and set his crossbow down.

_Well what in the fuck am I gonna do now?_ Merle decided to just take the classic way out: lie. "Rick was here earlier, said he was lookin' fer ya. Somethin' 'bout the fence on the east side?" Rick was always up before dawn, so it was a safe bet to lie about him.

Daryl gave Merle a side-long glance, thinking he was acting strangely helpful for the usual 7-in-the-morning-Merle. He watched his brother's gaze flit around the room nervously. Something was going on, but Daryl decided to leave it be. For the time being.

"Alright. He say where he was goin'?"

"Nah, but prob'ly his fields."

"'Kay. I'll be back."

Merle nodded at him, and Daryl shut the door. Seconds later Beth came bursting out of the supply closet, sputtering and tearing cobwebs from her hair. Merle couldn't help but laugh at the sight of her. She shoved him playfully and laughed, then got serious.

"Now, where were we?" she asked, trailing a finger down his chest.

Merle looked past her to the trays of food on the table. "Now I wouldn't mind pickin' up where we left off, but my brother's gonna be back soon."

Beth sighed. "Okay. Later?"

Merle scratched his head. "I don't know, kid. I'm gonna be pretty busy with workin' and…" He couldn't even get the sentence out before he cracked a smile. "Maybe. Gonna have to see how the day goes."

Beth smiled. "Okay." She reached up and gave him a peck on the mouth, which turned into a bit more than that. Merle pulled away first and pushed her toward the door. It wouldn't look too good to have her walking out of the tower, half clothed in pajamas while people were coming out to get dinner.

He watched her walk into the cell block. How her little body shimmied when she walked, how the light glinted off her sun-bleached hair. Why hadn't he noticed these things before? _Maybe 'cause ya hadn't sucked her tits yet, big boy._ That stupid voice taunted him.

Before his brain could conjure up any more asshole comments, Daryl burst through the door.

"Rick said he didn't know what the hell you was talkin' 'bout," he said, looking at his brother accusingly.

Merle, lost in the recesses of his old and tortured mind, muttered something about "musta been a dream" and walked out, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

Beth's mind was once again dominated by Merle Dixon. _What does this mean? We _kissed._ It has to mean something. Why did he even kiss me in the first place? Was he feeling the same things as her? Wait- did _he _kiss _me_, or did I_ _initiate it? Crap. I am never getting to sleep._

Beth sat up all morning, listening to the sounds of people milling around and getting ready for the tried unsuccessfully to push the gruff, but strong- _God was he strong_- man from her mind. Finally exhaustion overtook her, and she fell asleep, grasping her pillow as if it were him.

* * *

Merle was an asshole. A useless, selfish, worthless asshole. By the time he reached his cell block, he had convinced himself of that, and much more. His tormented mind's voice had made him a list. Asshole. Jerk. Motherfucking Pervert. The last one was bad. Red clouded Merle's vision every time he thought it. Beth was a kid; she was maybe 18. But her age didn't make a difference to the people here. She was the baby, of the adults at least.

And Merle Dixon had just ripped her shirt off of and was about to do something so terrible and immensely wrong with this kid. He hated himself for how much he liked it, and even as he thought these terrible thoughts at himself, he couldn't help but think about the next time he would see this girl.

Still. What happened tonight couldn't happen again. It wouldn't.

* * *

**I seem to have a problem with ending my chapters on sad notes... Something to work on. I hope you liked it though! I did have one question for my readers: Do you think I use Merle's full name too much? I just use it for effect in some places, but I was reading my story and I seemed to have written "Merle Dixon" a lot. I was just wondering what you guys thought! Thank you much and stick around for more. Chapter Four is in the works! :)**


	4. The Need

**Hey readers! Thank you thank you THANK YOU for all the wonderful reviews and suggestions :) I've given up on naming all of you every time I update, but know that I care for each of you personally! This chapter took me so damn long to post because I wanted to make it perfect. Some major things *_things*_ happen in this chapter and so yeah, basically if you're not comfortable with that, turn away, quickly! Although, if you've read this far, I'm not sure how you could _not_ be okay with it. As always, thank you for reading. :)_  
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**Oh! I was listening to ****Be Good by Waxahatchee and Broth**er by Matt Corby during this chapter. But basically, I go on YouTube and type in 'walking dead music tribute' and see what happens. :) Enjoy!**  
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**A/N: I'm re-uploaded this with some revisions. For some reason, I've been writing this story as if Merle has two hands and he obviously doesn't, so I changed some of the wording, but it's still all the same events!**

**CHAPTER FOUR**

Beth tried to find time alone with Merle all day. She would go out of her way to work next to him, eat near him, even "accidently" trip and brush up against him. She bounced from job to job, and everyone seemed to notice her light and happy manner. Beth had always been the sunshine of the group, but today she was exceptionally sunny.

Daryl watched his brother suspiciously. Merle went about his work, all business. But Daryl couldn't help but notice that when Beth was close to him, he tensed up or lied his way out of the area and made himself scarce. He suspected that it was because he still felt bad about hitting her, but then he rethought it and remembered that Merle didn't feel bad about anything, ever.

Merle had woken up same as every other day at first. Then he felt the tender scratches down his chest and the events of the past night came back to him. Fuckin' hell.

He spent the first half of the day avoiding Beth, although she was pretty hell bent on staying as close to him as she could. He skipped lunch in favor of helping Rick and Glenn clear out the rest of Cell Block A. He was headed to the bathrooms to get cleaned up when a small hand grabbed the back of his collar and tugged him into an empty cell.

"Hey you," Beth said quietly and wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled his head down to meet her lips, and Merle almost didn't stop her. But coming to his senses, he pressed his hands to the young girl's shoulders firmly.

Beth looked up at him. "What gives? You've been avoiding me all day."

Merle looked past her and said, "Can't be doin' this anymore. Ain't right, bein' with a young girl like you."

Emotions flashed across Beth's face. Merle thought he caught anger and resentment, but mostly there was sadness.

"Oh," Beth said, taking a step back. Tears pooled in her eyes. "I see. I'm too young. Of course you'd want someone older."

"Now listen, that ain't it at all." Merle shifted his feet and tried to look at her. He couldn't deal with sad women, especially not this one. He didn't know if she was gonna cry or yell or run away.

There was something about his tone, the way he said it. Like he had already discussed the subject, and the decision was final. It made her mad. Anger flared in the blonde's eyes. "What then? I'm not good enough for you? Too weak, too caring? I don't kill 20 walkers a day or eat nails for breakfast so clearly I'm not gonna be able to handle the great Merle Dixon!" The tears had broken free by now and were forming steady lines down her cheeks.

Merle contained his anger. "No, yer takin' this the wrong way, girl."

Beth was yelling now. "Oh, you know what it must be? You must be afraid of what Rick and Maggie and my daddy'll think!"

"Keep your voice down!" Merle hissed at her. They were far from the cell block, but who knew who could be walking down this hallway to the bathroom.

She continued as though he hadn't even spoken. "Admit it! This has nothing to do with your so-called "morality" or any of that other bullshit! This is about you and your fear! Daryl told me the stories, how you abandoned him, left him with your father! And now this. This is about your inability to face anything that might not work out favorably for you!"

At that comment Merle's anger ignited, and his eyes locked on hers. Beth immediately knew she had pushed too far with that last remark. Merle got in her face, and she backed up to the wall. "You listen good, kid. I ain't 'fraid a nobody. I risked my fuckin' life t' kill that bastard Governor. I ain't got one fuck left t' give fer myself, too damn busy givin' 'em out to yer lot! So don't fuckin' tell me 'bout what's favorable! Now I'm old enough to be yer goddamn daddy. If I say it's 'cause it ain't right, that's my fuckin' reason. I don't need you analyzin' shit. I sure as hell don't need you botherin' me. Leave me be!"

Merle spun away from their spot pinned against the wall.

Beth sucked in a breath and looked at him. She didn't know what to do. Should she try to talk to him? She didn't see any way that she was going to be able to change his mind, so after a few seconds, she slipped out of the cell. Sobs racked her small frame, but she was able to keep them quiet until she got to the end of the hallway. She leaned on the wall and slid down it.

Merle picked up his clothes from where he had thrown them in his anger at Beth. He punched the metal wall and stomped out of the cell.

He let the cold water of the shower run down his body. He put his hands on the back wall of the shower and stayed like that for a while. He needed a drink. He needed a line. He needed to fucking hit something. He needed…

After his shower, he grabbed a gun and a rusty crowbar and stomped out to the fence. The walkers got riled up at the scent of living flesh, and they pressed hard into the fence. Merle stabbed one through the fence and yelled, "C'mon! That all ya disease-bearing fucks got?"

The walkers growled in response. Merle picked up the pace. Sweat pooled on his brow, and his muscles burned from exertion. He heard nothing but the roars of the undead and the pounding beat of his heart. The fence creaked and groaned under the walkers' weight. He wasn't sure how long he was out there, but eventually the snarls were all but gone. He backed up, his chest heaving. Looking around, Merle stood in awe. There must have been 30 walkers lying on the other side of the chain links.

Merle was dripping with sweat and blood. He wasn't sure how much of it was his and how much belonged to the dead. So much for that shower.

He could feel the group staring at him as he trudged back through the cell block. Not bothering to walk all the way to the bathroom again, he wiped his face and arms down with a wet rag and laid down. He didn't want to close his eyes, didn't want to think, but eventually sleep overtook him. He dreamt of her lips on his, and his rough hands caressing her smooth skin. But his dreams were plagued with the same scared and foreboding feeling that the group experienced every damn day.

Some time in the middle of the night, he tossed and turned. He finally decided that he may as well get up and get some air, because he knew he wasn't getting back to sleep. He walked the deserted halls, not sure where he was going.

On the other side of the prison, Beth had a similar idea. She trailed her hand down the walls beside her and walked with no certain destination. She had spent most of the evening alone, knowing she wasn't much company. She hadn't given up on Merle, but Beth had enough sense to know she should let him calm down before she tried to talk to him again.

They both walked for a long time, unknowingly getting closer and closer to each other.

Merle turned a corner and saw Beth walking not ten feet in front of him. He stood paralyzed and silent. She hadn't noticed him there, and he planned on walking away when he felt a sudden burning in his chest.

Earlier that evening, he couldn't figure out how to end that last 'I need.' In this moment he realized what he really needed.

Her.

Beth heard footsteps behind her, walking, then running. She spun and barely had time to utter a sound before Merle's mouth crashed into hers. She was taken aback and at first she didn't move, unsure why Merle was here at all, let alone kissing her like a man possessed.

Merle was fueled by an intense need to kiss her, feel her, just know that she was there in front of him and this feeling he was having was real. He pushed her against the wall, and their bodies pressed together.

Something in Beth switched on when their bodies touched. She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him back. He growled into her mouth and ran his hand through her long blonde hair, knotting it in a fist at the nape of her neck.

Beth pulled back slightly and found his eyes in the dark. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"I'm sorry, sugar. Ya were right, 'bout everything. I am afraid, damn near terrified 'bout what yer sister or yer daddy would do if they knew the things I wanna do t' ya. But I don't care. I need you." His voice was low and shaky.

Beth shivered; Whether it was from the cold metal of the wall or the thought of what this man could do to her, she wasn't quite sure. Merle's mouth took possession of hers once again, and she could think of nothing, save his tongue and his strong arms around her and his husky voice saying, "I need you." She opened her mouth and he did the same, their soft moans mingling together.

Merle handled her small frame none too gently. He clutched at her shirt and her hair, working his way to her behind. His nails dug into her thighs and gave her ass a firm squeeze. She squealed and moved her hips against his. Merle groaned deep in his throat, and Beth flung her legs up around his waist, held steady by the wall behind her. Her hands caressed his rough skin, his cheeks, his shoulders, his hands. Merle's lips travelled up and down her jaw, stopping to nip at her ear.

"You don't know how much I want you right now," he whispered breathlessly. His hot breath on her neck made her shiver again, and this time it had nothing to do with the cold wall. Merle ripped her tank top from her chest, and the sound of tearing fabric echoed through the dark halls. He attacked her chest, biting and pulling on her hard nipples. She moaned lightly, and her hands found the hem of his shirt, and she pulled it off.

She watched him turn her legs to jelly. When he put her whole breast in his mouth, she raked her nails down his back. Immediately Merle growled and his grip on her hips dug into her body. His mouth crashed into hers again, and Beth pushed back with a new found fierceness.

One hand travelled down her body, and she rubbed his package through too many layers of clothes. Merle's breath caught when Beth's little hand squeezed him and rubbed her hips up to meet his.

Merle knew they weren't stopping any time soon. His brain was clouded with want, but he had enough of his wits to pull back momentarily and utter, "C'mon." He led her to one of the cleaner empty cells on this side of the prison. She trailed after him, one hand on his waist, inching closer to the front of his jeans. He flung her around him and threw her on the little mattress. She laughed and got up on her knees before he could lay down. Her hands ran down the big man's thighs.

She teased him, running her fingers over his jeans lightly. His breath was labored as she undid his pants and pulled the zipper down achingly slow.

"Fuck, kid," Merle groaned when she finally freed him of the confines of his jeans and boxers.

I can't fit that in my mouth was Beth's first thought. She had seen blowjobs given before, in the late hours of the night with her laptop, hidden beneath the blankets of her little bed. But she had never given one, and she thought for sure that this would not fit.

Merle saw the look on her face and took a second to pride himself in his impressive manhood. He was about to say something to Beth, but all trains of thought were lost when the girl reached up and boldly grabbed his erection. Her tongue traced a long line up the length of it, and he shuddered in pleasure. She trailed wet kisses up it, stopping to lick at the precum leaking from the tip. She moved to his balls, sucking one into her mouth, then the other.

She didn't have the slightest idea what she was doing, but the moans coming from the man above her told her she wasn't doing a bad job.

It felt so good that Merle thought he was gonna unload right then and there. But he wanted this to last, so he grabbed the little one's hair and led her mouth back to the top of his member. He pulled her toward him gently, a suggestion.

She complied with just a small look of apprehension. Here goes nothin'. She took the throbbing penis into her mouth. She started slow, just moving her mouth up and down. The hand in her hair tightened when her tongue circled the tip. She took that as a good sign and sped up. Her head bobbed up and down, eliciting strained moans from Merle.

Her wet mouth felt like heaven on him and Merle couldn't help but buck his hips as she thrust him into her mouth over and over again. She gagged and spit and gagged again, but she kept at it. The feeling of his cock hitting the back of her throat was foreign, but not all bad. Not to say it was the most pleasant thing she'd ever done, but Merle's quickened breath and moaning made her squirm with pleasure.

When he thought he couldn't take anymore, Merle pulled her off by her hair and gave her a sloppy kiss. Her nudged her back and she laid down, Merle hovering over her. He supported his weight on his arms, which sat on either side of Beth's flushed face. His cock, which was still hanging out of his jeans, hit her abdomen every time they moved. Merle's mouth moved up and down, his tongue traced lines on her body, punctuated by wet kisses. He was torn between just getting down to it and savoring the moment.

Beth was going between extremely confident and painfully shy tonight. That might have had something to do with the man sucking on her abdomen though. Right now she was feeling pretty confident, so she took control. She pushed him down to her center and all but threw her pants across the room.

One layer of thin fabric set between Merle and what promised to be one of the greatest nights of his life. He pressed his tongue to her lacy underwear -she came prepared- and licked a long, slow line all the way to her belly button.

He heard a gasp and a moan come from her, and he did it again, this time dragging his teeth along the skin as well.

"Oh God," she moaned and pushed her hips into his scruffy chin. He felt her through her panties; she was warm and so wet. Finally he ripped them off, probably destroying the delicate fabric. But Beth couldn't find it in her distracted mind to care. Tonight was a night to rip clothes off.

Merle buried his face in her warm center, and Beth arched her back as his tongue touched her clitorus. She was astounded by the feeling, so many sensations assaulted her mind at once. She was reduced to a mess of shaking and moaning, and Merle's erection pushed painfully into the mattress.

She tasted like heaven, her sweet juices covering his mouth. He sped up and Beth's moans turned to squeals. Her hands cupped her breasts, and her hips bucked into the aroused man's mouth. He slowed down, and she whimpered at him.

"Hold on, darlin', I ain't done," Merle said, laughing lightly. He watched her eyes as he slid one finger into her wet sex. Her eyes went wide, and a loud moan ripped from her throat. Nothing had ever felt this good. Merle's hand moved faster, and Beth's body moved against him, willing him to go deeper and harder into her.

He added another finger and pounded into her warm center. Her hips bucked again, and her nails dug into his shoulders.

"Oh God don't stop!" Beth yelled as she climaxed around his fingers, her womanhood shuddering and covering his mouth with her warmth. Merle slid his fingers out of her slowly and watched her writhe under him for a moment before drawing up face to face with her. He kissed her again, and Beth tasted herself on him. She wrinkled her nose, and Merle pulled back, confused.

"What-"

"Nothin'." Beth laughed and pulled his face back down to her.

When their lips touched again, she could feel the need in the way his tongue assaulted hers, but this kiss was more like their first. He was hesitant, apprehensive again. They pulled away at the same second, their words rolling over one another's.

"Ya sure-"

"It's okay-"

They both went quiet, waiting for the other to talk first. After a second, Beth laughed, and Merle responded by cradling her head and laughing into her light hair. They dissolved into laughter, shaking the rickety bed. She was one of the only chicks in the history of his life that could make him laugh like this. And she was so much more than a chick.

He looked back into her eyes and saw, something, in them. Worry, maybe? He looked down at her and said, "Hey sugar, we don't have t'."

Beth's face grew warm as she realized she had no idea how she was going to say what she was about to. "No it's not that." She smiled sheepishly. "It's just, I've never…" She sighed and the words tumbled out. "I've never done it before and I just wanna be good and I want you to like it and not feel like you have to do it just because I'm here and I want it and I just-" Beth stopped, taking a deep breath and holding it. She stared up at Merle with a look of embarrassment and worry.

The older man was never good with words, and he sure as hell had no idea what to say to that. So, starting with her jaw, he traced the lines of her face with one hand. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. When he was sure he had memorized every feature, his hand moved down to her collarbone, his gaze never leaving her closed eyes. He traced her chest, from the tip of her shoulders to her slender hips, taking in all of her curves and edges. His light breath floated across her skin, and she was comforted by it.

She watched him moved up and down her body and thought that he had never looked so vulnerable as he did right now. He had told her about the girls he was with before the end, and she knew none of those girls had meant anything to him. She still wasn't sure what she meant to him, but his calloused fingers tracing lazy circles down her sides gave her confidence. He was giving himself to her, just as much as she was about to give herself to him.

When his hands moved to her womanhood again and touched her lightly, she arched her back and moaned quietly. He leaned over her, pulling her legs up with him.

They locked eyes, and Merle's big hand stroked the side of her beautiful face.

"Ya ready, angel?"

Beth couldn't seem to find any words, so she just nodded and brought herself up to meet his lips. She clung to his neck as he pushed into her slowly, carefully. When he met resistance inside her, he almost stopped, but he stared into her eyes and pushed all the way in.

She whimpered lightly at the sharp momentary pain, and Merle halted. Her eyes were clenched shut, but she nodded and he moved inside her.

He pulled himself out slowly, then thrust back in. She was so tight around his bursting cock, and he couldn't help himself as he bucked his hips into her. A strangled gasp left Beth's throat, and she thrust herself onto him, her nails digging into his back. Merle settled into a rhythm, in and out slowly. Beth sighed and whispered moans into his ear.

"Fuck, Merle, yes.." Beth blushed slightly as the words escaped her mouth of their own accord. She moved her hips against his in the same rhythm, then faster and faster. Merle matched her pace and soon they were both moaning into each other's mouths. Beth attacked his mouth with intense desire, and something deep inside Merle clawed it's way out.

He gave no regard to the fact that this was a fragile, youth girl underneath him. With one hand in her hair and his metal one on her back, he flipped her over beneath him. He grabbed her hips and pounded into her, taken over by the feral need inside of him. He growled out his exclamations of ecstasy. His teeth and nails dug into Beth's skin.

She couldn't think, couldn't speak, could hardly breathe. She was confused by the sudden change in his demeanor, but that didn't mean she wasn't okay with it. Her moans turned to squeals as he hit that one spot inside of her with his rock hard member. She held his hand in her hair and pushed her hips back into his.

His hand reached around and worked her clit, and Beth saw stars. Her voice grew louder, and Merle's hand clasped her mouth shut, his subtle violence serving to arouse her more.

"Oh my God, Merle!" she screamed into his hand, and her walls clenched around Merle's dick.

He let her ride out her orgasm with much restraint. He pulled out slowly, and Beth's gasp pleased him. Now that he wasn't inside her, the urge to blow his load wasn't as strong, and his head was less crowded with feral instinct. But when Beth saw his tall erection and grabbed it in both hands, his head flew back and a moan escaped his lips.

She was on the ground in front of the bed before he even had time to think. She set her small mouth over the tip of it and pushed down, enveloping the appendage, which had obviously grown larger. She had only moved up and down twice, when she heard Merle whispered, "Holy, shit, fuck…"

She stopped and let her tongue run up the length of his cock, then took it all into her mouth and pushed herself to his pelvis.

"Beth!" he yelled as white, hot strings of cum shot into her mouth. She was surprised at the taste, not sweet, but not bad either. Thinking that was it, she moved her mouth from around his cock, only to be pulled back as another round of cum flew from his dick.

She swallowed it all, just like all of her friends had told her to do. Merle pulled away from her, only to yank her up to him by the arms. He planted a long kiss on her mouth, and his one good hand was soft on her shaking body.

He pulled back and asked, "How 'bout that fer a first time?"

Beth feigned a nonchalant tone. "Oh yanno, nothin' remarkable…" she teased breathlessly. He looked hurt momentarily, and she captured his mouth in a kiss. "I'm only kiddin', silly."

Merle smiled lightly and looked at the girl for a minute longer. "Well," he said, averting his eyes from her gaze, "reckon you outta be gettin' back to bed now."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess I should." Beth looked around the room. She didn't have the slightest idea where her clothes were, and she wasn't ready to leave Merle's warmth. When she didn't move, Merle looked at her quizzically.

"Can we cuddle?" She asked, not looking at him.

Merle had never cuddled before, unless you count that one time that he and Daryl had slept close together because the heat in their house had been shut off for the tenth time one winter. But that was _sleeping close,_ not cuddling. Only pansies "cuddled."

So why was he pulling her into the little bed and fitting her body to his? His arm snaked around her stomach, and her head leaned on his shoulder. Beth reached behind her and picked up the first pieces of clothing she could find: Merle's pants and her shirt. She draped them over their bodies haphazardly and settled back against Merle's strong chest. She was asleep in minutes, with Merle tracing lines on her shoulder.

As much as he wanted to fall asleep, he knew he shouldn't. He didn't have the slightest idea where they were, and he knew he would need to get Beth up before too long. Wouldn't do either of them any good to be walking back into the cell block at the crack of dawn, with everybody else getting up.

After an hour or two, Merle shook Beth awake. She yawned and curled into his chest. He chuckled and pulled her up into a sitting position with him.

"Gotta get up, sweetheart," he grunted, finding his boxers in the almost-black room. The tombs got no light from the outside; it sometimes reminded of his time in prison, before the turn.

She groaned in protest and felt around blindly for her pants. Once they were dressed, they emerged from the cell, and Beth asked, "So you know where we are?"

"Got no idea, sugar," Merle replied and laughed. He turned on the flashlight that was stuck in his pants, and they slowly followed the signs back to the main block.

Neither of them knew what to think exactly. They knew they didn't want to leave each other's company, but they were smart enough to know that being seen together would do nothing but harm. They reached the cell block before first light, and Merle stopped short.

Daryl was coming down from the perch, looking directly at Merle. He hadn't seen Beth yet, so Merle pushed her into the last empty cell, and she cried out in confusion. Merle leaned nonchalantly on the door frame.

"What's up lil brother?"

Daryl looked at him with the same suspicious look as he did in the guard tower. "Gonna go out and help Rick fix up the fence on the east side. Could use yer help."

"A'right. Lemme get my gun, and I'll be out."

Daryl eyed him for a minute longer, and annoyance showed on Merle's face. "What?"

"Nothin'. Ten minutes."

Merle nodded. Daryl walked away with one last look at the hallway behind his brother. T_he fuck is up with him?_

Merle turned around and leaned into the cell Beth was hidden in. She looked at him with wide eyes, then smiled. He took her into a long hug and kissed the top of her head.

"Alright. Go on. Take care of yer kids or make breakfast, whatever it is you women do 'round here." Merle playfully dodged her half-hearted punch and watched her walk to the cell block. He covered his mouth to stifle the laugh that bubbled up inside him when he saw the faint teeth marks underneath her old t-shirt.

He grabbed her again right before she got to the cell block and pointed to a particularly bruised part of her skin. "Might wanna cover that up."

She gasped and whacked him. "Asshole!"

He winked at her as she hurried into her cell, and he climbed the stairs to his.

* * *

**Chapter 5 is coming soon and Let. Me. Tell. You. I hope you like plot twists. :)**


	5. Bring Me To Life

**Dearest Readers, Hi! *Sigh*_ This chapter._ This chapter took me so long to get just right, and with classes ending and graduation and everything going on, my story was kind of put on the back burner for a bit. But I just finished the end, and I believe it is as good as I'm going to get it. Some crazy shit goes down, and I hope you stick with me through these strange and exploratory times. I wouldn't say that this story is going "crack fic," but it is kind of a mix between a complete smut story and an innocent one with no plot line, so it's a bit all over the place. But I thank you for staying with me and the characters so long, and I'm gonna go now so you can read. :)**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, other than my strange imagination.**

* * *

"I think your brother's on to us." Beth was laying in Merle's bed, while Merle dressed in old pants and his leather vest. It was early, an hour or two before sunrise, and Beth knew she would have to back to her room soon. They had been sneaking around for a few weeks now. After that first night in the tombs, she knew that nothing could stop this attraction.

Merle leaned on the bed frame and crossed his arms. "My brother don't care enough about what everybody else does, so long as it don't bother him." He sat down next to her, and she propped herself up on her elbows. "And even if he did know somethin', ain't nothin' gon' make me stop doin' this." Merle leaned down and captured her mouth in a fierce kiss. Her hands cupped his face, but Merle was the first to pull away. "Ya better get back t' yer room."

He was always the one to remind her to leave. If it was up to her, she would stay in his bed all day and forget the whole world. But that wouldn't be the best thing to do right now. She got up reluctantly and dressed. She gave him one last long kiss before padding quietly to her room.

Merle laid back down and took a drink of water. He thought about what the girl had said. Was his brother suspicious? Beth was okay with Merle's request to keep them a secret, but they both knew that wouldn't last forever. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if his brother knew about them. It's not like his brother would go running his mouth.

Merle would have to watch him. There wasn't much else he could do, short of asking him outright.

The days went on, and Merle and Beth kept their public interaction to a minimum. When they did talk, Merle would sneak glances at Daryl and almost always find him watching them. Merle tried to be subtle, but he usually just left the room awkwardly.

"He knows," Merle declared one night the next week.

"Did he say something?" Beth sat up, alarmed. They were in the library, hidden behind shelves of science textbooks.

"Nah," Merle scratched his head. "But he gives me this _look _every time the two of us are together. But I mean, I was thinkin'. Maybe it ain't so bad if he knows. People are gonna find out sooner or later. Daryl might whoop my ass for it at first, but he'll get over it."

"Well I don't want anybody whoopin' your ass." Beth puffed her little chest out protectively.

Merle laughed and leaned back on the shelves. "My little protector. I'll be fine. Been dealin' with my brother since 'fore you was born."

Beth was reminded again about their age difference. She never put a second thought into it initially; she decided that it didn't matter. If they were going to be together, a stupid thing like age wouldn't stop them.

Merle was still wary about the whole situation. But that didn't stop him from spending every night with her, sometimes just talking, sometimes more...

* * *

The next day Merle and Daryl sat in the armory cleaning their guns. The brothers were terrible with words, a skill that Merle found he needed more than ever these days. He was about to suck it up and just say something when Daryl cleared his throat and asked, "What ya doin' with Beth?"

Merle looked up at him and was so astonished that he feigned ignorance at first. "What ya mean, brother?"

"Ya know what I mean. You two's always talkin', then ya tuck tail and run soon as anybody walks by."

Merle holstered his gun. He was so surprised that Daryl had initiated the conversation that he had lost all confidence to actually tell him. So his guard was automatically up. "I hit her in the goddamn face, 'nd her family hates me. I's just tryin' t' be nice, and shit. Why the hell would I be messin' around with her?"

"Didn't say nothin' 'bout messin' around," Daryl replied.

"Well I knew damn well what you was thinkin'," Merle shot back.

"So there ain't nothin' goin' on? Nothin' at all?" Daryl looked at him with something - worry? - in his expression.

Merle sighed. He knew he should lie, make up some more bullshit excuses. He should just say no and leave it at that. _Fuck._ "S'that damn obvious?"

Daryl looked up at him sharply, "Ya kiddin' me? What the hell are ya thinkin'? She's a kid, for Christ's sake. And she's Hershel's daughter! Yer literally fuckin' the preacher's daughter." Daryl wasn't sure what he was expecting when he decided to ask Merle about this, but he sure as hell wasn't expecting an honest answer.

Daryl's anger didn't surprise him. "Ya think I don't know that? I'm well-fuckin'-aware. But I don't see her goin' around here actin' like some little kid, and she sure as shit grew up fast here. Way I see it, she's gonna be makin' her own decisions."

"And ya think those are good decisions? Oh right, any decision is good, as long as Merle gets laid!" Daryl fumed in his seat.

"Hey now, that ain't true." Merle shot him an annoyed glare.

Beth knew that Merle was going to have this talk with Daryl today, so she followed them, just in case things got out of hand. She heard them yelling and decided to step in.

"He's right," she said, stepping into the doorway. "I'm not a kid. And it's not like he's forcin' me to be with him. I can make my own decisions."

Daryl scoffed, but there was less anger in his voice when he said, "Good luck tellin' yer daddy that. He sure as hell don't want his little girl with an old bastard like you. Wouldn't even entertain the thought of-" He stopped short. "I ain't gonna tell him. But if you two think this ain't gonna get around, ya got another thing comin'." He picked up his shotgun and stomped out.

"Well. That went well," Beth said, after they had watched Daryl's retreating form disappear down the hallway.

Merle shifted in his chair. "Don't know what his problem is. Never bothered him 'bout any a my relationships 'fore."

Beth leaned on Merle's back and rested her chin on his shoulder. Her arms fell loosely around his neck. "Everything's different now. Maybe he cares."

Merle scoffed, but the idea stuck in his head.

Beth thought about the encounter for the rest of the day. She used to be so close to Daryl, until everything with the Governor happened. After that Daryl withdrew back into himself. Even after he had found his brother, he wasn't as animated as he used to be; granted, he wasn't very animated to begin with. He needed something in his life to lighten the burden he carried around on his shoulders all the time.

* * *

It was an uneventful week, at least on the outside. Questions bounced around in Merle and Beth's minds, some voiced, others not. One thing bothered Beth about Merle's wanting to keep them a secret, and in the passing hours of a night of passionate sex, she asked him.

"So are we like, a couple now? Or just friends who screw around?" Merle looked up from her body next to his to her face. "I mean, not that you have to label it or anything, I was just wondering. If we were or not." She tripped over her words, seeing the confused look on Merle's face.

Merle thought about it for a second. "I don't know, kid. I ain't had a relationship with anyone for a long while."

"Oh. Yeah I get that. Okay." Beth looked away from him.

He grabbed her chin and pulled her eyes back to his. "But that don't mean I don't want to be. Just gotta figure some shit out. But you know I don't wanna be with anyone else, don't ya?"

Beth smiled. "Yeah." They kissed and fell into a sound sleep.

Daryl laid in bed, lost in his own mind. He was conflicted. Merle hadn't been around to see he Beth he used to know. But still, she hadn't changed that much. Maybe he had.

He didn't want to say that he had started to develop feelings for the girl, but he had liked her. He never met anyone like her, and it was good to have some sunlight in the constant dark. But he would never act on those feelings, not then and not now.

* * *

Carol could see something was off with Daryl. She didn't know what was wrong, but she hated to see him sad. She decided to talk to him. After all, she was one of only people Daryl used to open up to. She and Beth; they got under his skin, made him spill his guts before he even knew he said anything. So later that night, Carol sat down next to Daryl at one of the tables.

"Hey," she said.

Daryl grunted a hello and shoved another spoonful of soup into his mouth.

"How was your day?" Carol prodded. She wasn't one for small talk; she would much rather just get down to business, but since she didn't even know what was wrong, she tried to sound casual.

"Fine," he murmured, avoiding eye contact.

"That's nice," Carol said. She started to talk about her day, and Daryl tuned her out.

"...And then I rode a camel to California and met God. Daryl, are you even listening?"

"Hmm? Yeah, sure," Daryl said without looking up from his soup.

"Yeah, and I'm the president," Carol said sarcastically. She sighed. "What's the matter with you? Your brother's back, we're safe for now, and all you can do is brood."

Daryl's eyes snapped to hers, and he got in her face. "Ya wanna know why I'm _brooding_ all the time? Because the world fuckin' ended. The Governor about took this damn place down. And my asshole of a brother's been here three months and already got a girl. And it had to be Beth too, 'course it fuckin' did." Daryl sat down again and stared at the wall across the room.

Carol knew about Daryl's feelings toward Beth. He had never told her outright, but she could see it in him. She hadn't known about Merle and Beth explicitly either, but she had her suspicions. That was a discussion she would have with Beth another day. It didn't look like Daryl had even noticed the secret he just let slip anyway.

"Well I'm sorry about that. I don't know how to help you, but we _are _safe and we _are _surviving. You just have to focus on that." Carol put a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah," was all Daryl replied.

Beth slid from the shadowy hallway and into the cell block. She heard the whole conversation, and an idea formed in her head.

She denied her feelings for Daryl when she was younger. There was always another woman that she was sure Daryl would form a relationship with. Carol, Michonne. Or there was the fact that she was young and inexperienced and helpless back then. So she bottled the crush up and threw it out to sea. Hearing Daryl say that he wanted her now opened up a whole new door. It stirred feelings inside her that she hoped this plan would sort out.

Her plan was, different, to say the least. She wasn't sure how it would work, or if it could even work at all. She needed to talk to Merle.

She found him outside on guard duty.

"So I have this idea," she said, smiling sweetly.

"Oh, brother," Merle eyed her with caution.

Beth laughed. "Actually it does have to do with your brother!" She told him her plan.

"Hell no!" Merle cried when she entertained the idea.

"C'mon. You told me stories, about the few times you and your brother, ya know… with girls. This isn't any different!"

"The hell it ain't! This is you, not some drunk bitch we met at the bar." Merle looked at her incredulously. Yeah, he and Daryl had a few "parties" with girls and some _things _happened, and sometimes it happened to be in the same room. But they were always drunk off their asses or running on some good drugs. And it was never with the same girl.

"Exactly, so it'll mean even more. I heard that conversation. He/s alone, and now that we're whatever we are, it's even worse for him. I like you both. What's some wrong with that?" Beh urged. She almost pulled out the L-word but stopped short. She didn't even know what love was, let alone whether she felt it for this man. So she kept it at that and watched Merle think.

"I don't know, angel. I ain't never been good with sharin'."

"Don't think of it as sharing. Think of it as… borrowing. But you both get to play." Beth smiled sneakily. "And it's not gonna be forever. Just one night, to bring him back." She wrapped her arms around his neck. "And it'll be fun." She teased him with the ghost of a kiss, but pulled back as he moved to deepen it.

"So whatcha say?"

Merle sighed. Maybe this _was_ what his brother needed.

* * *

Beth found Daryl walking the perimeter late the next night.

"Hi," she said quietly, matching his leisurely strides.

Daryl grunted. She had discovered long ago that Daryl never actually formally greeted anyone.

She got right down to it. "I overheard your conversation with Carol."

"Figured." Daryl said without looking up from his feet.

Beth was not expecting that. "Wha-"

"Ya got a knack for eavsdroppin', girl." Daryl cut her off.

Beth thought to protest but realized that was probably true.

"Well, I can help you with your problem, ya know. C'mon." She took his hand carefully and led him to the guard tower.

"Hey, what're-"

She shushed him. "Just wait."

_Who's on watch tonight?_ Daryl's mind raced as he thought. He looked at the empty tower nervously. Suddenly Beth's lips were on his, and he reeled back from her.

"What the hell?!"

Beth stepped to him, and he regarded her warily. "I know you're lonely, and I know you like me. I like you, too." Her body pressed against his, and his grip on her arms loosened just a fraction. Her lips met his again, and this time he didn't pull away.

"What about Merle?" Daryl mumbled into her mouth.

"What about me, little brother?" Merle was leaning against the door.

Daryl shot away from Beth at the sound of Merle's voice.

Merle laughed. "Ya don't gotta stop that."

Daryl stared at him, and then Beth, then back at Merle again in confusion. This whole conversation was making his head hurt.

"Don't look at me. It was her idea." Merle pointed at Beth.

"It's like I said. You're alone, and I talked to your brother. He wants you to be happy too. You need something to bring you back to life." She smiled and ran her hands down his scruffy cheeks.

She kissed him again, and she felt a shift in his body. He didn't kiss her back at first, and she was soft, inviting. Finally his lips moved ever so slightly. His hands rested on her hips. She cupped his face with one hand and motioned to Merle with the other.

Merle draped himself along Beth's back, and his hand on her body ignited a blaze. Daryl sucked in a breath as Beth opened her mouth wide, and then their tongues were intertwined. He had waited so long for this moment, and having resolved himself to never getting it made this ten times better.

Daryl was gentle, hesitant, as if he was worried that she would run away at any second. _What is it with these boys and hesitance? Damn. _Beth almost laughed out loud, but it was turned into a gasp when Merle's lips teased the tender spot behind her ear.

Daryl stiffened when he felt his hands, which were firmly gripping Beth's sides, brush against Merle's shirt. Beth's hands on him brought him back, and he moaned quietly when she knotted them in his long hair and pulled.

The younger man trailed his hands up her torso, taking her light shirt with him. Her chest was warm on his body, and he relaxed further into her; their bodies fit together. She tossed her shirt aside and pulled Daryl's jacket off. Merle removed his plaid shirt and continued sucking on Beth's neck. Daryl's ratty sleeveless shirt was next to hit the floor. Beth leaned back against Merle's chiseled chest and slung her arms up around his neck. Merle's mouth found hers.

With some urging, Daryl began to leave wet kisses from Beth's neck to the little curve between her breasts. His hands ghosted down her body, barely touching her.

Merle's hand clutched at her side, and he ground his erection into her behind. Beth pushed her hips back, and her chest was thrust into Daryl's face. He needed no more invitation than that. His hands snaked around her back, and he was hyper aware of Merle's body touching the back of his hands. This was different than the other times he and Merle had been with girls. But this was his brother, and they were closer than anyone could get in this world anymore.

He didn't have a chance to think about it anymore because at that second his fingers found the clasp, and Beth's purple bra came free. Daryl wasted no time as he trailed his tongue back up to her jaw and captured her mouth.

Merle's hand dug into her abdomen, and his nails scraped tracks up her stomach to her perky breasts. The blade from his mechanical hand had been removed, but the cold metal hung at his side. Beth didn't mind; he could do more with one hand than any other man could do with two. She moaned and squirmed between them. She threw her bra into the pile of clothes, leaving her hands out in front of her to explore the landscape of Daryl's chest. He was in even better shape than Merle, although Merle's arm muscles flexed with every movement he made.

And the movements he was making right now were making Beth crazy. He had his hand on her breast, and his other arm was snaked around to push her hips back into his. He squeezed her breast, and Beth giggled quietly before moaning as Daryl took the other into his mouth.

His tongue teased her erect nipple, and his hands caressed her skin. He ran his teeth over the light skin, biting down hard enough to leave a mark but not enough to hurt. Beth's head flew back in ecstasy.

Merle spun her around forcefully, and she grabbed the front of his pants. Their mouths intertwined with sudden passion. She unclasped his belt and let his erection out in record time. Her butt ground into Daryl's hard-on, and he pushed back with the same force. He moved to undo his own pants, but Beth's hands on him stopped him. She reached behind her and pulled his zipper down slowly, savoring the want in his eyes. He member finally popped free of his jeans, and she trailed her hands down the two men and slid to her knees.

Taking both of the men into her hands, she stroked them slowly. Daryl looked down at the little girl below him. He'd lost count of how many times he'd dreamed about this. He was about to fuck Beth. This small, perky, adorable, smart, strong girl. She was probably the only person he could ever see himself loving. Wait- did he just say _loving_? Shit. No, he couldn't think like that. This was a one time thing.

Beth put Merle's erection into her mouth first, enveloping most of it in one try. He groaned, and his hand tangled in her hair. Her hand moved faster on Daryl's throbbing cock, and he couldn't help a small moan from escaping through his lips. It came out as a sigh, "Oh..fuck."

Beth turned to him and glanced into his eyes, before licking his impressive length and fondling his balls. A real moan ripped from his throat when Beth's warm mouth closed around him. He shut his eyes and grabbed her by the hair, less forceful than Merle. He knew he wasn't going to last long. Beth pulled off of him with a pop and grabbed both their hands.

She led them around to the other side of the guard tower, where someone had set up a blanket with a few pillows. The men took off their jeans, and Beth looked at them, suddenly shy. The two brothers glanced at each other for a brief second, then Merle nodded. All at once, they were on the makeshift bed, squashed under their weight. They had tackled her. She laughed at the boys and brought Daryl's lips down her hers. She was starting to see that sex brought out the playful side of Daryl, just as she had hoped. He bit her lip suddenly, and wetness squished in her underwear. Merle's hand was at the top of her pants, pushing beneath her jeans. She gasped and pressed her chest into Daryl's. His hands palmed her breasts.

Merle pulled her shorts and panties to her ankles in one swoop, and his arms pushed her legs farther apart. His rough fingers caressed her wetness, and one slid in of it's own accord. Merle grunted, his erection pressed hard into Beth's back. Beth's hands gripped both men's cocks, and she stroked them to the pace of Merle's hand on her. Her moans were swallowed by Daryl's kiss.

Merle pulled a condom from the pocket of his discarded jeans. Rolling one on himself and throwing one to Daryl, he flipped Beth over onto her back and slid inside her. She gasped and rolled her hips. They settled into a now familiar rhythm, and Daryl draped Beth's back with his body. She moaned into Merle's neck, and she knew she was close. Merle sped up and her moans turned to screams as she climaxed. Merle pulled out of her with a grunt, and Beth rolled so she was laying on top of Daryl.

Beth's warm hips pushed against his cock, and Daryl couldn't help the groan of ecstasy that came from deep in his throat. Beth stared down at the younger brother, whose face was contorted by need. There was a hunger in his eyes, but it wasn't the feral need that shone in Merle's eyes. Merle knew what he wanted, and he knew Beth wanted him. There were so many emotions on Daryl's face: worry, confusion, apprehension. But present also was that light Beth hadn't seen in him in months. She smiled down at him triumphantly, and his mouth broke into a wide, genuine smile in response.

She wanted both of these men more than she could remember wanting anything in her life. She slid her wetness up the length of Daryl's rock hard erection. He moaned and bucked his hips. Her body pressed down on him as she settled down onto him. Her warmth clenched around him, and a strangled moan escaped his lips. Beth kissed him affectionately.

Nothing had ever felt as good as this. Daryl's mind was a blur of moans and sensations and Beth. He grabbed her hips and pounded up into her. She kissed his mouth, his ear, his neck. Everything she felt was his body, everything she saw when she opened her eyes was his eyes. She bit down on his neck suddenly, and Daryl exclaimed loudly.

Merle watched Beth ride his brother for just a moment before positioning himself behind her. His hand teased her butt. They had done it once or twice before, and while Beth was sore for a day or two, that was nothing compared to the ecstasy it provided. When she felt Merle's rough finger begging entry, she spread her legs wider and placed Daryl's hands on her ass cheeks.

She moaned as Daryl's fingers pushed into her. Her little hands clutched at Daryl's on her ass. She rocked her hips against Daryl's faster and faster, and Daryl pounded her harder.

Merle added another finger, and Beth stifled a scream into Daryl's chest as she came on his hard member again. She slowed her movements, her body racked with the aftershock of her orgasm. Daryl pulled out of her, and Merle did likewise. Beth flipped around, taking Daryl's bulging dick into her mouth.

She found Merle's dick and went between the two men, leaving sloppy kisses up and down their lengths. She felt Daryl's tongue flick out and lick her hot center, and the moan that came from her throat vibrated her whole body.

Watching another man do that to _his_ little woman struck that jealous monster inside of Merle. He was okay with this, he told Beth he was. In a flash, he grabbed Beth's hair and pulled her up to him. Instinctively she reached for his face, but he manhandled the two of them into a standing position. He pulled her away from the bed, and Daryl leaned up on his elbows to look after them. Merle turned his back on him and held Beth's arm.

"I can't do this, angel. I ain't sharin' you," Merle growled low.

Beth looked at him, worried. "But you said before… What changed? He's your brother, Merle. And did you see him smile? He's coming back." Her nails ran up and down his body. He gasped quietly, and Beth captured his lips. "C'mon," she murmured against them.

They walked back to Daryl, who watching them warily. Merle still wasn't totally sure, but Beth's mouth on his and her warmth against his penis didn't allow room to think about it anymore. Beth held his hand as she lowered herself back onto Daryl's chiseled body. He slid into her gently.

Behind her, Merle pushed himself into her tight back entrance. Beth laid down on top of Daryl, their bodies flush together. He breath came short in Daryl's ear as Merle worked himself into her. Daryl caressed her neck and back with his hands, each touch punctuated by a kiss. She whined at the slow pain creeping up on her, but Daryl's mouth soon covered hers.

When they kissed, it was different than any other man she had ever kissed. Even Merle's kiss was different than this. With Merle, there was fire and need and passion, a heat that spread through her body, instantly igniting her deepest desire. But when Daryl kissed her, she felt a slow buzz start in her head and work its way through the rest of her being, like the feeling you get when you take the first sip of hot chocolate. Beth wasn't sure that either one was better, but the sensations together made her vision blur with euphoria.

Daryl pushed into her with a steady rhythm, while Merle kneeled behind her, fully sheathed in her tight heat. He grunted deeply at the minimal friction; he wasn't gonna last long if this kept up. He pulled out a little, then pushed back in hard. Beth squealed at the mix of pleasure and pain. She clutched at Daryl's body, and his mouth assaulted hers. Her hands tangled in his long hair and pulled hard.

"Oh, fuck," Daryl groaned.

Merle looked down at the pure bliss on their faces. He realized Beth was right. His brother was more important to him than anything, even his own life.

Merle refused to let his mind wander from the beautiful woman under him for more than a second. He palmed her ass cheeks roughly. He pulled one hand back and slapped her ass playfully. His dick slammed in and out of her, each thrust bringing him deeper inside her. He kissed her neck while Daryl made his way down her chest. Daryl thrusted into her pussy erratically; he was so close. Merle felt his orgasm building up inside of him. Daryl threw his head back when Beth licked a steady line from his collarbone to jawline.

Beth's breathless squeals showed she was nearing the end. Every thrust of the men's hips pushed harder, faster. Merle's arms were braced on either side of Daryl's head. He watched his younger brother's eyes go wide then squeeze shut. Merle brought his forehead to Daryl's, Beth writhing and panting between them. He groaned ferally as Daryl's breath came in short pants. His hand moved to Daryl's head and pulled hard on a handful of the mop.

The brothers came at the same time; Merle's good hand lost in Daryl's hair, Daryl's hands clamped hard to Beth's hips. Her walls clenched around both men as she came for the third time that night. They rode out their orgasms together and collapsed into a hot, messy, and tired heap. Beth rolled off of Daryl's chest to lay between the two boys. Daryl pulled his full condom off, wiping the cum on his discarded shirt. Merle did the same. Beth pulled back the blanket, and they crawled into the makeshift bed. Daryl turned on his side, one arm under his head as he looked at Beth.

A tinge of jealousy hit Merle again as he watched the way his brother looked at Beth. Daryl liked her, maybe a little too much. But Merle knew this wasn't going to happen again, at least not regularly. Because the last time he said never again… well, this is where they ended up. He knew Beth wanted him, and he wanted her just as much. He lay on his back with his arm under Beth's head. He watched Daryl's eyes slide shut and traced lines of Beth's fair skinned body. She snuggled up in the blankets between the warm men and in a quiet, sleepy voice, she sighed, "I love you."

Merle's eyes shot open at the sound of those three words. He stared at the ceiling, terrified to turn his head and look at Beth. He didn't know which terrified him more: the possibility that Beth wasn't talking to him, or the very real possibility that she was. The ceiling blurred in front of him, and the words repeated in his mind. No one had ever told him that, not once. When he gained the courage to look at Beth, she was fast asleep, with one hand on his chest and the other on Daryl's shoulder. He chanced a look at his brother, but his head was turned the other direction.

Merle settled into the bed, taking Beth into his arms. _I love you, too_, he thought silently.

Daryl stared unwaveringly into the patch of moonlight on the floor of the tower. He couldn't think of anything, not the bodies next to him, not the events that just unfolded, nothing. All his racing mind could conjure up were the three words that the little girl beside him just uttered sleepily. He let himself think for a one second that maybe she had meant them for both of the men, but he knew it was a lie as soon as it was thought. He laid still and heard first Beth, then Merle drift off to sleep.

The longer he laid awake, the more he thought. And the more he thought, the harder it was to keep the anger at himself from taking over his mind. He moved carefully from under the covers and found his jeans and wifebeater. The door creaked when he slipped out and Beth rolled over and mutter something that sounded like, "Where ya goin'?"

Daryl shut the door silently and walked out into the darkness.

* * *

**Too much sexual tension? Too soon to pull out the "L" word? Too angsty of an ending? Let me know in reviews. And as always, thank you so much. :)**


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